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As Hurricane Odey Sweeps Across the North, Leaving Trails of Sweetness

As Hurricane Odey Sweeps Across the North, Leaving Trails of Sweetness

Linus Obogo 

From Obanliku, crisscrossing Obudu, Bekwarra, Yala with Ogoja as the melting pot, the Northern Senatorial District of Cross River was aglow with renewed fervor as the Deputy Governor, Hon. Peter Odey, undertook a five-local government areas tour that was more than an official outing. It was a pilgrimage of culture, unity and sweetness. From Ogoja to Obanliku, the echoes of drumming feet, the colours of dancing fabrics, and the warmth of communal embrace testify to a people reawakened by leadership with a listening heart.

Like a storm that does not destroy but fertilizes, Odey’s tour has swept across the northern landscape with a hurricane’s energy and a farmer’s patience. Villages and towns have become theatres of joy, where communities pour out their dances, tell their stories, and offer their loyalty in celebration of a government that remembers its people. It is the ‘Season of Sweetness’ not as rhetoric but as lived reality, alive in the faces of market women, farmers, youths and elders who thronged out to welcome him.

At every stop, the deputy governor became less of an emissary of government and more of a bridge between the people and their destiny. His words, heavy with reassurance, painted a vision of inclusion where no voice is too faint and no culture too small to matter. “This administration belongs to you, and it is for you,” Odey declared with conviction, his voice rising above the hum of anticipation. “We are committed to ensuring that every community feels the sweetness of governance.”

The tour has become a rolling carnival of identity, a celebration where masquerades and maiden dancers weave the threads of heritage into the garment of unity. The colours of the north—its foods, festivals and rhythms—have met the melody of government presence, creating a symphony where culture and governance dance in harmony. For the deputy governor, culture is not a relic of the past but the soul of a people, and by celebrating it, he affirms their pride of place in the state’s collective journey.

Beyond the dancing and drumming, Odey’s visit also carried the weight of purposeful engagement. In town halls and village squares, he listened attentively as farmers spoke of roads, as women raised concerns of health facilities, and as youths dreamt aloud of skills and opportunities. Each voice was not dismissed as noise but gathered into the fabric of government’s promise—a testament to the administration’s ‘People First’ philosophy.

Observers note that the deputy governor’s northern odyssey is both symbolic and strategic. Symbolic, because it reconnects government to the grassroots heartbeat; strategic, because it fosters the unity without which development remains an empty shell. The north, often seen as the cultural citadel of Cross River, has now been given the sweet assurance that it is also at the centre of governance and progress.

Indeed, Peter Odey’s tour has turned into a tapestry of belonging. Where once there may have been distance, now there is closeness. Where once there may have been scepticism, now there is faith. The deputy governor has not merely visited communities; he has inhabited their hopes, embraced their concerns, and amplified their dreams into the corridors of power.

As the caravan of sweetness rolled on, it left in its wake not only mud splashing from village paths but also the fragrance of promise rising from grateful hearts. In this unfolding season, the north has rediscovered itself—not as a forgotten corner, but as a vibrant pulse in the Cross River story. And at the centre of this rediscovery stands Hon. Peter Odey, the hurricane that sweeps with grace, unites with purpose, and leaves behind the sweetness of hope.

* Obogo is the Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser to the Cross River State Governor on Media and Publicity

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Linus Obogo  From Obanliku, crisscrossing Obudu, Bekwarra, Yala with Ogoja as the melting pot, the Northern Senatorial District of Cross River was aglow with renewed fervor as the Deputy Governor,
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Presidency: 70% Of Insecurity In N ‘Central States Solvable Through Non-kinetic Means

Presidency: 70% Of Insecurity In N ‘Central States Solvable Through Non-kinetic Means

Deji Elumoye in Abuja 

The Presidency on Tuesday declared that 70 per cent of security challenges facing the North-central geo-political zone can be solved through dialogue and not necessarily force.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North-central), Dr Abiodun Essiet, who made this disclosure, said nearly 70 per cent of security challenges in the North-central can be tackled via non-kinetic means anchored on the communities.

Speaking at the capacity building training for stakeholders across the North-central states held at the State House, Abuja, the presidential aide posted: “From our analysis, nearly 70 per cent of the security challenges in the North-central can be addressed through dialogue, reconciliation, intelligence sharing and community engagement, rather than through force alone.”

Reminiscing on the June 5, 2025 launch of the Presidential Community Engagement Peace Initiative (PCEPI) in Jos, Plateau State, Essiet stated: “That historic event was a significant step in our collective journey towards fostering unity, strengthening social cohesion and empowering communities to take ownership of their peace processes.”

She announced that in line with Nigeria’s implementation of the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations, her office is partnering the International Communities Organisation (ICO) on a project titled ‘Promoting Community Peace and Strengthening Social Cohesion in North Central Nigeria’.

At the heart of the effort, Essiet said, is a grassroots network that leaves no local government area behind.

According to her, “At the heart of this initiative is the establishment of a peace structure that will cut across all the 110 local governments in the North-central region.

“This structure will not just exist in name; it will be an active platform focusing on gathering and sharing intelligence, facilitating continuous dialogue, and helping us identify underlying issues and root causes of conflict. Ultimately, this peace structure will serve as the backbone of sustainable peacebuilding in our region.”

She stressed that tackling local disputes early is decisive, adding that: “Once we succeed in resolving internal communal conflicts and addressing the root causes of tension, we will already be halfway to overcoming insecurity in the North-central,” while armed criminality remains for security agencies.

The training featured sessions on Peacebuilding & Conflict Resolution, Conflict Dynamics & Community Engagement, and Intelligence Gathering for Peace, alongside state breakout SWOT sessions to map risks, stakeholders and interventions. 

“This training is not just about acquiring knowledge; it is about forging partnerships, building trust, and developing strategies that will directly impact our communities. I urge every participant to be open, interactive and collaborative,” Essiet told participants.

Stakeholders highlighted forests and borders as pressure points. 

On his part, the Commandant-General of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS), Ambassador Joshua Osatimehin Wole, said Nigeria has 1,129 forest reserves, with 174 in the North-central.

He called for tighter inter-agency cooperation and effective forest control, identifying Niger, Kwara and Benue States as epicentres requiring enhanced surveillance.

“For sustainable peace in our communities, all our forested regions must be well coordinated and preserved. We need to protect the forests,” the NFSS DG said.

“We must create additional security agencies to conduct continuous security surveillance. Three states border international frontiers—Niger, Kwara and Benue—and they are the epicentres of insecurity.There should be inter-agency cooperation and effective control of our forests.

 “What Nigeria is currently going through goes beyond farmers–herders clashes. We must also consider the post-Gaddafi era,” Wole said, noting that mercenaries scattered across the Sahel after Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya’s fall.

Also speaking, the Director of the MacArthur Foundation, Kole Shettima, underlined the centrality of stability to development, stating that: “Unless there is peace, you cannot do what you want to do, peace is essential and paramount.”

He urged the National Assembly to strengthen traditional institutions, saying:

“We have to look historically at how our elders solved conflicts and learn from it.”

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Deji Elumoye in Abuja  The Presidency on Tuesday declared that 70 per cent of security challenges facing the North-central geo-political zone can be solved through dialogue and not necessarily force.
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NBS, INEC Collaborate On Data Collation

NBS, INEC Collaborate On Data Collation

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja 

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have resolved to collaborate to make the data collated from the commission available to more Nigerians.

Speaking during a courtesy call on the management of the electoral body on Tuesday in Abuja, the Statistician-General of the Federation, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, said NBS has the mandate to produce data on socio-economic and other areas in the country for the citizens so that government could use the data to plan, make policies, and evaluate policies that are in place.

According to him, “It’s not only data produced from government; our data is also used by private organisations, companies. Our data is being used by even other ministries and departments and agencies of government to plan their own programmes and activities at their respective MDAs.

“So for us to be able to report adequately on all SDG indicators and goals, we need all kinds of administrative data that is produced by public institutions and government agencies.”

Adeniran said it was against this background that NBS met with the INEC management to see how they can collaborate and ensure that they have data produced by INEC on NBS database and make it available for public use.

He stated: “As you all know, the core mandate of the National Bureau of Statistics is to warehouse all official data for the country so that we can make those data available to the public, available to government to do their work, to make programmes, to formulate policies.

“We have been having these collaborations with different agencies. We do a similar thing with the Ministry of Agriculture when we produced the census of Madrid.

“We have similar collaborations and discussions with federal ministries and humanitarian affairs. We have this meeting with the Ministry of Education, and we are developing a system that will allow us to link up with these agencies that are producing official data for countries.

“So that we don’t have to bring flash disk copy data. The kinds of data we are talking about are big data. So there should be a system by which you can link up with your system here and then get the data seamlessly.

“We call it Integrated System of Administrative Services (ISAS) and presently, we have 15 MDAs that are on that platform. That we can get data from them anytime. As the data is changing, we are also receiving them on a daily basis.

‘‘So it’s the same process; it’s the same kind of system that we are going to be working together with INEC to get data from them seamlessly.  Not only that, any data that INEC also requires for their planning, for their process, they will also be able to get it easily from MDAs as well.

“We are also going to benefit by having a lot of data that they produce from time to time as we speed their green registration. We are also going to benefit by having a lot of data that they produce from time to time as we speed their CVR registration.

“Now, this data is being put together almost every week. So NBS will have the opportunity to get the latest data from INEC and make it in a format that people will be able to relate to it.”

Earlier, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the commission has the largest database of adult citizens for the specific purpose of elections and electoral activities in Nigeria protected by law, including compliance with the provisions of the National Data Protection Act. 

He added: “We are always willing to partner with national agencies within the confines of the law while maintaining our independence. We regard our partnership with NBS in this context.

“Over the years, stakeholders, especially the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and groups representing the community of persons with disability, have appealed to the commission to improve these facilities by providing electricity and water for ad hoc staff, as well as access facilities such as ramps for citizens with special needs during elections and electoral activities such as voter registration. 

“We urge the NBS to add these concerns to the statistics on the state of public facilities that you periodically publish and in your engagement with constitutional bodies such as the National Economic Council (NEC) in which all state governors in Nigeria are members. 

“Let these facilities which train our youths at the foundation and intermediate levels of the education system be beneficiaries of the widely proclaimed dividends of democracy.”

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Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja  The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have resolved to collaborate to make the data collated from the commission available
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